


Slow and Steady

by orangeunnie



Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Canon, Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, get well soon Jiyong, just some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 14:17:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangeunnie/pseuds/orangeunnie
Summary: Jiyong has a break from the military.





	Slow and Steady

Jiyong dropped his bags in the doorway unceremoniously, taking a moment to look around his home. It had been three months since he’d last been here but it had been spent in a haze of sleep and pain medication. When he had been awake, he’d had a revolving door of visitors and was ashamed to say he had actually gotten more rest at the hospital. This time it was on his own terms - well, that of his unit’s, who had won these precious four days off in a shooting competition. Jiyong hadn’t participated as he still wasn’t cleared yet for full physical activity and he felt guilty that he was still reaping the benefits. It was Yeonjoon, the youngest in their unit, that had whispered to Jiyong that they had done it for him. He smiled at the memory and made a mental note to bring him back something nice for his girlfriend.

 

Silky fur brushed up against his boot and a few annoyed meows greeted him from below.

 

“Iye-ah..” The agile cat dodged Jiyong’s hand when he reached to pet him and took off into the living room. “Hello to you too.”

 

There was no one else home and they wouldn’t be until tomorrow. 

 

Jiyong let out a huff and pulled his boots off, hanging his baret in the closet. It had been a long day getting home, no one had been prepared to get him so suddenly and he’d had to take the bus. Luckily, his manager had picked him up at the bus station otherwise there would have been mass chaos at his sighting off base. He heaved his bag back up and brought it to his bedroom where he took off the rest of his uniform and dug out his oldest, comfiest pair of sweatpants. Then he pulled on one of their old concert t-shirts, the faces of his band members staring out with fire in their eyes; it made his heart pang. Their group chat hadn’t had a new message in two weeks. Jiyong grabbed his phone and opened the chat.

 

“I’m home ~ heart byeong ♥”

 

He headed back out to his kitchen and rifled through the fridge. His mother always made sure to keep a healthy stock of side dishes in there, even when he was on tour. She had been staying here more often now since his sister had moved out, so there was even more than usual. Jiyong loaded up a plate and finally settled into the living room to watch TV, hoping to catch a rerun of one of Seungri’s recent appearances. 

 

As he flipped through the channels between mouthfuls, Iye returned and jumped up onto his legs, now that he was wearing something that probably smelled more familiar and not like countryside, gunpowder and cheap laundry detergent. The small cat curled up in his lap, vibrating with soft purrs. Jiyong finished off his food and soon found himself dozing, head nodding forward against his chest. A full stomach and the low talking from the TV were lulling him to sleep.

 

The door buzzer startled him back awake a little while later. Iye scrambled from his perch on Jiyong as he jumped up, which he immediately regretted when sharp pain shot through his ankle and up his leg. He forgotten he’d removed his brace when he’d changed out of his uniform. 

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

The buzzer alarmed again impatiently. 

 

Wincing, Jiyong hopped over to the doorway, gingerly testing his foot again as he answered the intercom.

 

“Hyung!!” Came an enthusiastic voice that could only belong to one person. A minute later, there was a knock on the door and there was Seungri himself. “Hyung! Why didn’t you warn me you were coming home!?”

 

He barged in and threw his arms around the smaller man. Jiyong tried to stay balanced, ankle  throbbing dully.

 

“Seungri-ah, why didn’t you warn me you were coming over!?” Jiyong replied, matching his over the top excitement teasingly. 

 

Seungri hugged him tighter. “It’s been so long again, the last time was…”

 

“At the hospital,” Jiyong finished when Seungri pulled away and looked down at him standing on one leg. 

 

“Shit, sorry, go sit hyung.” Seungri followed his hobbling leader back into the living room and helped him put his foot up on the couch. “Does it still hurt?”

 

“Sometimes, but it’s a lot better now. Stopped using my crutches a month ago.”

 

Seungri smiled but noticed the grimace lingering on Jiyong’s face. “Need some ice?”

 

“Yeah..”

 

Jiyong hated this the most, that just when he was starting to feel normal again, something held him up. His entire recovery had been two steps forward, one step back. And he knew that people were talking, his parents had mentioned that their president had contacted them a couple times for an update for the press. Jiyong had avoided the news as much as he could during his time in various hospitals, which was a mess in it’s own right, so it was inevitable that he would hear something. More than anything though, it had made him want to get better even faster, much to the displeasure of his doctors. Slow and steady, they had said. Jiyong had never been slow and steady his entire life. 

 

“Here,” Seungri returned with some ice wrapped in a dish towel. Rather than pass it to Jiyong, he gently lifted his legs up and sat down, letting Jiyong’s feet rest in his lap. He carefully pressed the ice to Jiyong’s right ankle. “You know, the fans are worried about you. Do you want me to say something?”

 

Jiyong thought for a moment and shook his head. “I’m just a normal person right now. They’ll get over it.”

 

Seungri sighed at Jiyong’s stoic response; he wasn’t going to argue the matter. Instead, he tried a different tactic.

 

“So, are you going to get a new tattoo there or just leave it?”

 

Jiyong pushed the ice away and rolled down his sock. His scar was healing but it was still slightly raised and pink. “I don’t know, I kind of like it as it is, actually.”

 

“Now there’s the hyung I know, you’ll play it up so the fans all scream and cry.”

 

Jiyong pulled his sock off completely and tossed it at the younger. 

 

“Gross, hyung!”

 

It felt good to laugh again. 

 

Seungri replaced the ice with a frown and Jiyong let his chuckles die back down. The longer they sat there, the further Jiyong relaxed into the cushions. The softness enveloped him and the warmth beneath his legs coming from Seungri was making him sleepy again. He hadn’t realized how deeply tired he’d been for weeks.

 

Jiyong woke up and for a moment he felt the sickening drop in his stomach of not knowing where he was. It happened when he toured, flying to different countries every day, and then more recently when he’d been shipped between hospitals and his military base - different beds, different ceilings, different sounds. A blanket had been spread out over him and the TV turned down low. Right, he was home. Seungri had moved to the floor and it looked like he had dozed off too at the coffee table. Jiyong realized then that he had never asked how Seungri found the time to come here. He reached out from the blanket and touched his shoulder. 

 

Seungri jumped slightly, blinking the sleep from his eyes. “Hyung?”

 

Jiyong smiled. 

 

“Do you need anything?”

 

“You don’t need to take care of me, I’m self sufficient now,” Jiyong said softly. 

 

“I know, I can’t help it.” Seungri had that look on his face that Jiyong could never find himself being mad at, his eyes wide, dark circles and raised eyebrows giving him a sort of shocked yet innocent look. 

 

“How come you came? Aren’t you busy?” 

 

“Well, I had a couple things, but they weren’t that important. Taehee told me he was picking you up and then I saw your text…” Seungri looked down at his folded hands. He thought they were stubby, Jiyong thought they were cute. “... And I couldn’t wait to see you.”

 

“I missed you, maknae.”

 

“I missed you too.”

 

After a few beats of silence, Jiyong gestured for Seungri to join him back on the couch. Seungri obliged and the elder snuggled into his side. He tried to forget that this wouldn’t last, that he’d be going back to his base by the end of the week. Slow and steady, he reminded himself.

 

“Like old times?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Seungri took the TV remote and found a drama that was airing. “But nothing will beat Princess Hours.”


End file.
